Comedy industry chats and more
with critic Kate Copstick
and blogger John Fleming

LIVE IN LONDON

The monthly meet-ups - open to all - are held in the performance space at the back of Kate Copstick's Mama Biashara charity shop in Shepherd's Bush, London, usually on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Anyone can come. Entry is free. Exit is free. Start time is 6.30pm.

The next Grouchy Club get-togethers will be on:Tuesday 12th June
Tuesday 10th July

The Mama Biashara shop is in the West 12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush, London W12 8PP, on the south side of Shepherd's Bush Green opposite Shepherd's Bush station (NOT the Westfield shopping centre, which is on the north side!). Shepherds Bush station is on the Overground and on the Central Line of the London Underground. Go straight to the back of the shopping centre and turn right at the Lidl supermarket.

Podcast No 101: Mark Borkowski on the Edinburgh Fringe - 2 August 2017CLICK HERE(24 mins)The changing face of comedy and the Edinburgh Fringe. PR guru Mark Borkowski joins comedy critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in Edinburgh… What is good, bad, changed and unchanged at the Fringe? Why agents not PR people are the downfall of the Fringe. Plus the return of The Establishment Club and Borkowski’s new search for comics, artists, musicians, poets etc for a new TV series on a channel you would not expect. And Copstick’s attempt to bring vaudeville back to TV.

Podcast No 100: Populist comedy v the Oxbridge elite - 16 February 2017CLICK HERE(43 mins)The snooty sneering of the Oxbridge elite and some comics against popular humour. Variable opinions on The Weirdos and the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society. The talent of Luisa Omielan. The irresistible sexual attraction of Italian comic Giacinto Palmieri. The inability of comics like Michael McIntyre, Frank Carson & Matthew Kelly to stop being themselves. Copstick’s work with Basil Brush and her admiration for the Chuckle Brothers. Coughing John’s failure to visit Amsterdam’s red light district and his attraction to heroin + LSD. The success of one Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award. The BBC’s Appreciation Index. Plus Copstick sings.

John’s quote of the week: “Beheading teddy bears! That’s what the public wants!… There was the man who used to eat his brain.”

Podcast No 99: A role model for comedians - 13 Febuary 2017CLICK HERE(27 mins)The brilliance of Alan Davies at Pull The Other One. The unfeasible tallness of Darren Walsh. The formidable talent and influence but silence of Richard Herring. How Jim Jefferies did not destroy Piers Morgan over Donald Trump’s ban. How Reeves & Mortimer ‘died’ in Basingstoke. How Rik Mayall & Ade Edmondson (not Ben Elton) ‘died’ on stage in Inverness. Plus Kate Copstick’s pet hates about stand-up comics, Ariane Sherine’s “Love Song for Jeremy Corbyn”, the meaning of Alt Right and Copstick & Fleming’s failure to get talent spotted.

Copstick’s quote of the week: “He doesn’t lick media’s arsehole in an attempt to tunnel his way up to a series of his own. He’s a proper working, clubbing, stand-up comic.”

Podcast No 98: Comedy courses, Johnny Depp & butt plugs - 2 February 2017CLICK HERE(33 mins)Comic Janet Bettesworth joins critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in the busy Mama Biashara emporium in London. They discuss the usefulness - or pointlessness - of having an MA course in stand-up comedy, being an aural voyeur and Facebook arguments. Plus Copstick on her plan to become a torch song singer, how she boil-washed her passport and the rules of butt-plug hoopla. John remembers how he took an elephant up England’s highest mountain and Copstick laments how someone partially stole her idea for killing herself with a rectal thermometer and a bomb. All this plus Johnny Depp’s $3 million to blow Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes out of a cannon and suggestions on what to do with your own dead body’s ashes.

Copstick’s quote of the week: “Oh, Janet! What kind of woman do you take me for?”

Podcast No 97: Thom Tuck - ACMS, Penny Dreadfuls & Doctor Who - 27 January 2017CLICK HERE(37 mins)Thom Tuck joins critic Copstick and an ineffectively interjecting John at Mama Biashara in London in a doomed attempt to plug The Penny Dreadfuls’ new project. Copstick passionately attacks the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society and a female comedian but is clearly now warming to Sarah Millican. Thom talks about his indescribable new show and his ambition to appear in Doctor Who while Copstick wants to play a villain. Thom talks about panel shows. Copstick talks about him performing in her porn movies.“The one thing comedy can never be is smug” (Copstick)“The times I have done it, I have both got completely naked and been in a dress.” (Thom Tuck)

Podcast No 96: International comedy, cannibalism and Catholicism - 19 January 2017CLICK HERE(36 mins)Italian comic Luca Cupani on representing the UK in worldwide comedy competitions. The problems of performing to US and Canadian audiences. Copstick on why English language comedy is more precise. Theresa May’s Brexit speech. New Edinburgh Fringe venues. Copstick offers to marry Luca if he eats her. The sins of the Catholic Church and why anyone who celebrates mass logically has to go to Hell. Plus Copstick and Cupani sing - sort of.

Podcast No 95: Comedy songs, Jeremy Corbyn and nervous breakdowns - 12 January 2017CLICK HERE(41 mins)Ariane Sherine, musical comedy performer, journalist and TV scriptwriter joins critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in London’s bustling Mama Biashara emporium They disagree about sex on a first date, discuss hairy men, why sex is like a cup of coffee and why Charlie Brooker is kind. Plus the joys of meeting famous comics on The Guardian’s dating site, Ariane’s upcoming novel, the Simon Singh-along with Tim Minchin and Ariane’s “Love Song For Jeremy Corbyn”. Then... fear of a bad review by Steve Bennett on the Chortle comedy website; why Ariane is not playing the Edinburgh Fringe this year but is turning to online music videos, the cost of Jeremy Corbyn lookalikes and Ariane’s topless video with John. Plus Copstick remembers Ariane’s “Beautiful Filth” CD - “So clever. The lyrics were just clever, clever, clever, smart stuff.” And the two of them sing Tom Lehrer’s “Poisoning Pigeons in The Park” etc together, then swap nervous breakdown and prescription drug stories and talk about the benefits of self-harming: “I genuinely think,” says Copstick, “self-harming, up to a point, is a great coping mechanism.”

Podcast No 94: Nick Awde and European comedy - 7 January 2017CLICK HERE(38 mins)Nick Awde - critic, reviewer and author - joins Kate Copstick, John Fleming and a future gag writer aged 8½ in London’s Mama Biashara emporium for an even more-than-usually meandering and annoyingly interrupted podcast supposedly but only marginally touching on comedy amid discussions on linguistics, Ireland’s Black Lodge, Janey Godley’s family dog, Copstick’s family background, Brexit and the cultural influence of France - despite the fact that the French apparently do not have a word for “one man show”. But we do manage to discuss the comedy circuit in Flanders; the German version of "Allo Allo"; the closure of London’s Comedy Cafe; Eddie Izzard’s Franglais shows; comic Michael Brunström’s financial tragedy; and Ariane Sherine’s planned Jeremy Corbyn music video. PLUS Good news about the Malcolm Hardee Awards and the Grouchy Club at the Edinburgh Fringe. Kate Copstick’s quote of the week: “What is it about speaking French that turns people into absolute arseholes?”

Podcast No 93: Quirky comedy and unique vaginas - 22 December 2016CLICK HERE(31 mins)Martin Soan, comedy promoter and creator of The Greatest Show On Legs, talks to critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in London’s Mama Biashara emporium. Has all the quirkiness gone out of the comedy business? Can Michael Brunström and Spencer Jones save British comedy? Did the Arts Lab start alternative comedy? Memories of The Browns’ double act, the influence of Germany, teddy bear torturing, walking on the ceiling and eating your own brain. Plus political correctness, sexism, the annoying thing about women, how Martin destroyed a kitchen every night at the Edinburgh Fringe and why he now turns down annual vagina requests… And then there’s a long discussion about the unique shape, colour and positioning of vaginas.Kate Copstick: “There is a fucking tsunami of under-talented people who fondly imagine they can be stand-up comics.. There’s too many people with absolutely fuck-all skill coming into comedy.”Martin Soan: “There’s something getting rather distasteful about the comedy industry”John Fleming: “You know when you’re sorry you asked a question?”

Podcast No 92: London’s Comedy Cafe Is Saved? - 16 December 2016CLICK HERE(25 mins)Comedy Cafe owner Noel Faulkner reveals the background to the club’s closure and possible re-birth in a perfect-sounding venue in February. Why a benefit show for the club would be “scandalous”. Why Malcolm Hardee’s Wibbley Wobbley is about to sink. The racism and sexism of club owners. How club owners schedule acts. The blame game played by comedians. Why booking women can be sexist. Why Friday night audiences are worse than Saturday night audiences. Plus rumours of a risk to the Comedy Store, the Night Czar of London and Copstick sings (again).

Podcast No 91: How to succeed as a comedian - 8 December 2016CLICK HERE(31 mins)How Michael McIntyre succeeded in UK comedy. Why Louisa Omielan and Tom Binns are succeeding. The late Addison Cresswell’s talent. Five-year career plans. Copstick’s health, career and balls. The tragic closure of the Comedy Cafe in London. The effect of free entry clubs on pay-to-enter clubs in the UK. Is it necessary as a comic to play the UK comedy circuit or is there another way? The pointlessness of comics performing to comics and not ‘real’ audiences. And Copstick sings. Again.

Podcast No 90: Hugging, flirting and sexism - 3 December 2016CLICK HERE(49 mins)Often controversial London comedy club owner Martin Besserman talks to critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in a noisy Mama Biashara emporium. Martin on being mugged in a Manchester hotel. Why running a comedy club is getting more difficult. The problem (or not) of ’free’ shows. Misleading advertising. Jack Whitehall’s virginity. Patrick Monahan’s hugs. PLUS... Is it impossible for women to be sexist? Flirting and sexism in comedy. Alison Moyet. The lack of any political correctness in Kenya. The talent of Jessica Martin.And Copstick’s shocking time in an underground room with Bobby Davro.

Podcast No 89: Becky Fury and 5-year comedy plans - 27 November2016CLICK HERE(25 mins)After a disastrous attempt to record a podcast with Kate Copstick in Kenya, John Fleming (with raging toothache) talks to double Malcolm Hardee Award winning stand-up Becky Fury sitting on a freezing dockside bench outside the Wibbley Wobbley boat in Rotherhithe, a few feet from where Malcolm Hardee drowned in 2005.With the wind loudly hitting the microphone and a helicopter appearing overhead…What does a relative newbie think about the UK comedy industry? Has she sketched-out the 5-year plan promoter Hils Jago recommends comics should have? Why did a film-maker want to make a documentary about her? Is she going to have to polish turds and play the game? Why does she re-write William Blake poems? What IS success if you are a Buddhist comedian? And will she reach a satisfying climax?

Podcast No 88: Trump & the sexism of the UK’s liberal Left - 13 November 2016CLICK HERE(16 mins)Amid the drama of a very dodgy internet connection, critic Kate Copstick on the generosity of comedian Janey Godley and the Puppetry of The Penis man… on the screamingly camp men on British Airways… on the tasteless sexist posts of Britain’s mysoginist liberal Left attacking Donald Trump’s glamour model wife… on why Hillary Clinton maybe shows why women should not run for Presidential office. And I propose that New Jersey-born comic Jerry Sadowitz should stand as US President.
At only 15 minutes - and despite the internet chaos - this could be the perfect taster for those who have not yet experienced the rants, inanities and insanities of The Grouchy Club Podcast.

Podcast No 87: Drugs, comedy and the madness of PC - 5 November 2016CLICK HERE(46 mins)Guest Chris Dangerfield and Kate Copstick attack social justice and political correctness and the Third Wave of Feminism. Plus the success of Andrew Lawrence, Richard Gadd and Doug Stanhope… Being a student with lots of sex, drugs and money. Plus is liking Robin Williams and Bob Monkhouse un-cool? The lottery of getting on television, the downsides of having an agent and how alternative comedy descended to the mainstream.

Dangerfield on the Edinburgh Fringe: “I was terrified. I’d been in the Sun with this show. I’d got the whores to sponsor it. I’d built it up. But I didn’t have a show…”

Dangerfield on political correctness: “Freedom of speech is over, because hate speech has been invented and hate speech is just the end of free speech because anything can be classed as hate speech if you nominate it.”

Dangerfield on drugs: “I’ve done a lot of drugs in my time and I like a lot of drugs - they’re interesting, they’re exciting. If you don’t abuse them, I think they can add to your life… But, if you like heroin, there’s no drug effect. There’s no narcotic effect. It will just sedate you. And, if you like that, there’s something wrong, because life’s not about sedation; life’s about engagement and connection. Heroin is the opposite of both of them. If you like that, I would suggest you need help.”

Podcast No 86: Comedy double act: Copstick & Fleming - 31 October 2016CLICK HERE(30 mins)Even more of a double act than a comedy podcast this week… In a Hallowe’en edition, we ramble on about Copstick’s health, Kenya’s unburnt witch, South Africa’s planned “pile of wank” to ban satire, a “spectacularly good” UK comedy club and Scotland’s White Heather Club. PLUS Are Sam Simmons and Spencer Jones suitable for Live at The Apollo? Ordering drugs from Chris Dangerfield. Comics faffing about at the start of their acts. What makes a good comedy MC? Comperes who mess-up their introductions and entire shows. Susan Calman is irritating. Copstick nominates her funniest video line of the century. PLUS Barry Cryer’s colostomy bag and the BBC complaint. Lewis Schaffer described as a “dwarf planet”. And why are many comedians so self-destructive.

Podcast No 85: Trump, Clinton & UK comedy - 21 October 2016CLICK HERE(25 mins)Copstick, on OxyContin, in a wildly busy Mama Biashara shop, tries and fails to find UK comedy news. Her plan to become a nun. The joys and talent of Miles Jupp. The horror of the Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton election debate. Plus Copstick has a go at the “smug, self-satisfied” UK haters of US Trump supporters and “the castles of cunts that have been in power since time immoral”. Plus international airline chaos and the woes of flying charity goods back from Kenya to London. Plus Copstick forces John to sing.

Podcast No 84: Brexit and middle class comics - 15 October 2016CLICK HERE(27 mins)Why middle class comics were so shocked by Brexit.
After an interrupted start with Copstick in camp in Kenya, back to our normal disjointed style - on the decline of British comedy clubs, the collapse of the Invisible Dot and Chatty Man Alan Carr; the rise of Ivan Brackenbury and Bill Bailey.
Plus the Centre for Comedy Studies Research, a threat to break Tim Renkow’s legs, Stephen Bailey rejected by the BBC for being ‘working class’ and the annoying failed Referendum Remainers who moan endlessly but do nothing.

John’s quote of the week: “Comedians are sort of out-of kilter with the real public. They’re in kilter with the people who go to comedy clubs (who) tend to be middle class. But they are out-of-kilter with the mass of voters, which is why Brexit was such a shock.”

Copstick's quote of the week: “The Twiterati don’t like the working classes. Brexit was, by and large, a working class vote.”

Podcast No 83: BBC diversity dangers - Tim Renkow, Mitch Benn & blood demons - 8 October 2016CLICK HERE(29 mins)Tim Renkow’s new BBC TV sitcom A Brief History of Tim - comedy critic Kate Copstick pitches herself for a role...
With Mitch Benn and Jon Holmes sacked from "The Now Show", a plea for more comedy and less PC on BBC Radio.
Plus Copstick spurns the live Grouchy Club in London for a mercy dash to Kenya on the rumour of “a demon drinking blood”.
And how she became the voice of British Railways.Copstick's quotes of the week:
“I don’t think diversity for diversity’s sake is ever a good idea - certainly not in comedy”
+
"Estonia has the best-looking women in the world”

Podcast No 82: More sexism anyone? - 30 September 2016CLICK HERE(30 mins)Sexism, Kate Smurthwaite, wolf whistles, Sarah Chew, Emily Hill, babes and FemiNazis. Are terms of endearment from men sexist? Are wolf whistles the equivalent of war crimes? Have I got tuberculosis? Kate Copstick gets her tits out in front of Jordan. Janey Godley and The Only Way Is Glasgow. Why a doctor thought it was a bad idea to treat Copstick. Porn films and the improvised children’s TV show No 73.

Podcast No 81: Political correctness and malicious intent - 26 September 2016CLICK HERE(26 mins)Political correctness and malicious intent. The Gazza PC hoo-hah and why we have to be upset about something. The English injustice system. Comedy MCs who become PC Heteronormatives. The changed acceptability of Harry Hill’s transgender joke. Plus Mama Biashara’s supplies to Syria. Is it impossible to have sensible comedians? And why Copstick reckons there is a lot of hate heading my way.

Copstick’s quote of the week: “A heterosexual couple. What the fuck is wrong with that? I am not heterosexual and I am not part of a couple, but what is wrong with that?”

Podcast No 80: Sex, sexism and FemiNazis - 16 September 2016CLICK HERE(35 mins)The “proper sexism” of the mid-1980s and earlier in Northern Working Men’s Clubs remembered by comedy critic Kate Copstick while John Fleming fiddles with his nuts. Copstick reminiscences about her days as a pantomime dame, touring the northern clubs and being pelted with sweets by 2,000 children. There is talk of BBC TV currently ‘desecrating' old sitcoms but not Peter Tinniswood’s “It Takes a Worried Man”. Plus women behind the throne in British TV sitcoms. Sexual social segregation. Sheena Easton’s ex-husband. The powerful women of old-time Music Hall and Vaudeville. And the lost honesty of old-style comedy audiences.Copstick’s quote of the week: “There is nothing wrong with a single-sex club.”

Unoriginal BBC TV sitcoms crucified by critic Kate Copstick. Why performers are entirely right to call her a bastard. John Fleming’s criminal background. The English and Scottish injustice systems. Copstick ‘outs' herself as a Corbynista and talks of her secret lust for her English teacher. PLUS Why Ariane Sherine wants Copstick as her mother and John Fleming as her father. And the “bundle of chaos” that is comic Neal Portenza.

Copstick’s quotes of the week:

“Why don’t they just put a sign on the BBC saying “Our commissioning execs don’t believe anyone can come up with a good idea or write anything original ever again, so we are just re-hashing?”
+
“I am very excited to discover that I am podcasting with a convicted criminal. You have risen in my estimation no end.”

Comedy Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe. Before the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Awards were announced, amid a noisy crowd in Assembly, a tired and emotional Kate Copstick and John Fleming babble and discuss comedy at the Fringe and how the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards winners were decided…

Comedy gossip with critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming in a very noisy Southside Social pub in Edinburgh. Why Copstick no longer wants to hear about Fringe comedy acts from PRs next year. Comic Candy Gigi’s horrendous experience with an awards judge. Why the comedy section of the Fringe Programme has become “toxic”. How Paul Currie’s comedy show moved from “slightly scary” to “much more fun” but Copstick now wants to “smack him in the face”. Why Copstick hates the word “lover”. Why she was second choice to co-host The Grouchy Club and its original conception as a ‘real people’ TV chat show.

Copstick’s quote of the week on Fringe comedy PR: “It’s ugly and it’s wanky and it’s just horrible… I haven’t been to see one single great show this year because a PR suggested it or even because a PR alerted me to it”

Podcast No 75: Edinburgh Fringe ruined by PR people and by Edinburgh University - 13th August 2016CLICK HERE(28 mins)

Kate Copstick rants about people jumping the queue at Richard Gadd’s show and how greedy Edinburgh University are financially raping the Fringe. Plus Copstick’s X-ray shows a shadow on her lung: could it be her last Fringe?
Plus how Tim Minchin’s UK career started. How “wonderful” Karen Koren of the Gilded Balloon venue has helped acts.

Sex at the Edinburgh Fringe. The most arrogant little prick of a comedian whose show critic Kate Copstick has ever sat through. The joys of Sweet venues. A woman being hit over the head by a wheelbarrow. Alfie Brown’s brilliance. Copstick nominates Twonkey for the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award and raves about Michael Brunstrom’s surreal show and his sexually attractive legs. The perils of drinking too much Red Bull. The King of Clit Comedy. The Grouchy Club’s previews of 2017 Fringe shows. The perils of ‘papering rooms’. Marcel Lucont’s calendar. Malcolm Hardee: The Musical. And Copstick vividly shares one of her most memorable sex acts..

Podcast No 73: The Week before the Edinburgh Fringe - 22 July 2016CLICK HERE(37 mins)

The rise of YouTube videos. Critic Kate Copstick & blogger John Fleming are joined by comedian Diane Spencer. Do comedians HAVE to play the Edinburgh Fringe or even play the London circuit? Getting fined £20,000 for bad taste jokes.

Plus Lewis Schaffer’s dirty protest poster; the joys of morphine; the new FirstMinute Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe; how to start a 55-minute comedy show; the liars of Facebook and are small audiences better than talking into a mirror?

How to get comedy shows reviewed at the Edinburgh Fringe. How to extract good quotes from bad reviews. The highly influential and currently very ill comedy reviewer Kate Copstick on how, why and when she decides to review shows for The Scotsman during the Edinburgh Fringe. Plus Copstick sings. Plus famous people’s semen.

John Fleming tries to get a word in while comedy critic Kate Copstick talks about the most impressive press release she has seen for an Edinburgh Fringe show this year and her mooted return to stand-up comedy. PLUS her admiration for Boris Johnson, Angus Deayton, Lady Colin Campbell, Tanya Lee Davis, Janet Bettesworth (“the best hair in comedy”) and David Mills (“uber queen of this parish”). PLUS her bowel movements, genitalia, Jeremy Corbyn, sex with prostitutes in Manchester, the return of “Radio Active” and, finally, the amazingly likely reason why current comedy is so very bland.

Best Copstick quote this week is arguably: “I do not regard having sex as an intimate relationship. Having sex is not intimate at all.”

On a bad line from a noisy internet cafe in Nairobi, critic Copstick talks to sleepy blogger John in London about...
political tension and facial pus-filled spots in Kenya; sectarianism in Scotland and Kenya; the killing of MP Jo Cox in Britain; interviewing comedian Stewart Lee; this year’s Malcolm Hardee Award judges; John having half his beard shaved off on stage; comic Ariane Sherine’s love for Jeremy Corbyn; and the Bullshit Awards.

From a Nairobi cafe, critic Kate Copstick talks to blogger John Fleming in London about...Being homeless in Kenya, racist jokes, a new Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award judge and the hypnotist who creates comedy improvisers. Plus John says there are only two sexes, Copstick inspires a show which literally takes the piss, John turns down the stage role of God and Copstick recalls what a terribly shallow stand-up comic she was in the 1990s.

NB CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER OFFENSIVE (but I think they’re wrong) - Is there a difference between racial and racist jokes? Are racially-descriptive words in themselves offensive?
PLUS Kate Copstick on observational comedy, “the industrialisation of comedy” in the UK and attacks three Channel 4 Comedy Gala performers for losing their originality and replacing it with formless “mush”.

IN A TRAGIC CYBER CATASTROPHE, the start of this podcast was accidentally erased. The background is that John Fleming had been ill with flu and Kate Copstick had been in bed in agony for two days. Now listen on...
The Canadian comic being sued for a non-PC joke. The children’s cartoon series with a cure for cancer and the lure of immortality. How to fuck-over dodgy Edinburgh Fringe venue The Gilded Balloon. Why comedians should never invite Kate Copstick to a preview. A list of free Edinburgh Fringe previews in London. Copstick’s history of using butt-plugs. And her booking to appear at the Edinburgh Fringe this year singing “There’s No Business Like Showbusiness” with a firework stuck up her arse. All this and more.

How does a writer know their material is good? Is there such a thing as pure funny? Does mass appeal always mean bland not brilliant? + The end of the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards, Jimmy Carr v Michael McIntyre, John Lloyd’s new show, Radio Times and the new restrictive Scotsman contracts for freelancers. THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED ON 6th MAY BUT, DUE TO ILLNESS, NOT POSTED UNTIL 13th MAY.

Podcast No 61: The Sex Life of Kate Copstick - 30 April 2016CLICK HERE(27 mins)

Comedy critic Kate Copstick goes on one of her moanalogues, then explains why she is an ‘easy lay’ and talks about the man who chatted her up last week, the small African who disappeared between her legs, how to spot a large penis, her time in a jacuzzi with a poodle and her failed attempt to cut her pubic hair into a heart shape and dye it pink. Plus the comedian who is planning to get audience members up on stage to have live sex. And comic Tanyalee Davis’ clothing for dogs, her floating bottom, dead diminutive singer Prince and the availability of the Mama Biashara stage area for Edinburgh Fringe previews.

Podcast No 60: Sexism in Comedy - 23 April 2016CLICK HERE(29 mins)Sexual harassment by a male comedian to a female comedian. Critic Kate Copstick thrown out of her home for alleged sexual activity. Internet Fascists. Critics crowdfunded to review shows. Eamonn Holmes and Kelvin MacKenzie on dead stars.

Podcast No 59: Advice for Comedy Performers - 16 April 2016CLICK HERE(38 mins)Comedy critic Kate Copstick’s change-of-heart over Ross Noble. What comedians should NOT do on stage. Doug Segal drowning kittens in a bucket. Lewis Schaffer’s 0-star review and comedians’ attacks on reviewers. The shift to online PC cabals. How a double bass made Jim Tavaré successful. Ariane Sherine’s strange success. The first 15 seconds that make audiences like performers. And how the Malcolm Hardee Awards gave Kate Copstick “a greater appreciation of the crazies” of comedy.

Podcast No 57: The anti-Semitic Facebook posting - 1 April 2016CLICK HERE(24 mins)Kate Copstick gives the background to the anti-Semitic posting on Facebook and the Twitter s***storm.

Podcast No 56: Kenya, comedy, Fringe chaos - 18 March 2016CLICK HERE(19 mins)On a difficult FaceTime link from Nairobi, comedy critic Kate Copstick talks to John Fleming in London about how comics ruined the Edinburgh Fringe, “Mother fucking Teresa”, her drug taking in Kenya, the late magician Paul Daniels, comedy in Africa and anarchic comedian Malcolm Hardee being reincarnated in Kenya.

Podcast No 55: Comedy newcomers- 11 March 2016CLICK HERE(29 mins)“Comedy is often a defence mechanism... You learn a way or survival and, if it works for you, you carry on. And, if you are a comic on the circuit now, you carry on whether it’s working or not.”
With Kate Copstick away in Kenya, John Fleming talks to therapist turned comedy promoter Arlene Greenhouse and journalist turned stand-up comic Ariane Sherine about...
The change in the UK comedy circuit over the last 13 years. Dirty sexual comedy. Jeremy Corbyn’s eroticism. The creation of a new comedy circuit. Are therapy and comedy the same thing? And the chance for John of naked-from-the-waist video stardom.

Podcast No 53: Edinburgh Fringe news - 27 February 2016CLICK HERE(34 mins)Edinburgh Fringe news - digital shows, virtual reality and new performance spaces. The Gilded Balloon controversially poaches another venue. How to stage a good show without losing money. The comedian with bigger tits. Good news for a good comic. A sex-change performer’s new show. Grouchy Club news. We Are Thomasse. Knitting for Syrian refugees. Sex kinks plus sex with insects and earthworms. You heard it first here.

Podcast No 51: Fetish and comedy clubs - 12 February 2016CLICK HERE(32 mins)Critic Kate Copstick attacks co-host John Fleming, who is having trouble getting rubber and PVC clothes for his visit to the Torture Garden fetish club. Copstick reminisces about her days in fetish clubs and her "Hardly Camp At All" one-woman show in London, Edinburgh and New York. Then there’s Frank Sanazi’s new Dead Elvis act, an update on Copstick vomiting blood, praise for Pret a Manger and the sale of The Scotsman newspaper. All this plus Joe Bor, Tanya Lee Davis, Pull The Other One, the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe, the Malcolm Hardee Awards, Lewis Schaffer’s big secret, Copstick’s duet with “Rocky Horror Show” creator Richard O’Brien, borrowing a song from Bill Bailey and comedians boxing for cancer.

“The future of comedy is here” (the Independent on Copstick)

“I am not pleasant enough to do anything on my own” (Copstick on herself)

Podcast No 50:
Comedy genres - 5 February 2016CLICK HERE(35 mins)After last week’s disaster, it takes critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming 16 minutes of bimbling and Copstick getting very angry before they get to the meat of character comedy, spoof comedy and the joy of Jimmy Carr, Milton Jones, Spencer Jones (The Herbert), Michael McIntyre, Al Murray, Owen O’Neill, Laura Solon and Tim Vine... with mentions of Janey Godley, Lewis Schaffer and Baby Spice. So, you have been warned - non-lovers of non-sequiturs might want to miss the first 16 minutes!

Podcast No 49: It never starts - 30 January 2016CLICK HERE(28 mins)We apologise. The weekly podcast is supposed to be about the comedy industry, but this one trundles on for 28 interminable minutes without ever really starting. Somewhere along the way, we talk about Britain’s Got Talent, the reputation of the Avalon talent agency and the fact that Copstick is in a raging black mood while John is gibbering - and we start having two parallel simultaneous monologues. And Copstick sings. But, truly, it is a real dog’s dinner. Not recommended unless you want to check how not to record a podcast.

Podcast No 48:
Edinburgh Fringe advice - 25 January 2016CLICK HERE(35 mins)Kate Copstick vomits blood and gives advice on how to stage and promote an Edinburgh Fringe show. John Fleming gives advice on structuring a show and rattles his teeth. Plus how Tom Binns became Ivan Brackenbury, cabaret, James Whale, laughter and talking out of your arse.

Podcast No 47: David Bowie, comedy and buggery - 16 January 2016CLICK HERE(26 mins)The David Bowie backlash. Buggery in Amsterdam. How the rise of British alternative comedy was an attack by the middle classes on the working class. The possibly destructive power of the Chortle comedy website. Why Copstick has become a fan of Ricky Gervais. Easily-shocked Americans. Copstick’s new show at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe. Plus Michael McIntyre’s new show, more famous people dropping dead, Copstick sings again... and the unspeakable Lewis Schaffer!

Podcast No 46: Feminazis and coughs - 9 January 2016CLICK HERE(27 mins)Kate Copstick rants about feminazis, comic Kate Smurthwaite, comedy guru Gaulier, being misquoted about rising comedy stars Sam Simmons, Spencer Jones and Elf Lyons. Plus her TV series, inevitable sex, a rudely-named Welsh coffee shop and why she had to be carried out of her house and put on a wheelie bin. John Fleming coughs, tries to get a word in edgeways and repeatedly mentions comic Lewis Schaffer.

Podcast No 45: John Fleming's Blog Ends - 1 January 2016CLICK HERE(32 mins)The danger of critics being ‘intimate’ with comedians. Kate Copstick’s three stage shows at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe. How to be a director at the Edinburgh Fringe. How comic Lewis Schaffer was responsible for the death of John Fleming’s daily blog. The transgender comic’s satire workshop. Copstick’s work as a ‘kitchen bitch’. A theft of snow. Ebenezer McIlwham the unknown poet. AND Copstick sings!

Podcast No 44: UK Comedy Deaths - 18 December 2015CLICK HERE(32 mins)The end of the comedy section in Time Out. The end of John Fleming’s daily blog. The last live Grouchy Club. Nina Conti to join porn film set. Will and/or Sarah Franken to teach satire. Kate Copstick to consider teaching aggression in a Scottish accent. John Fleming to consult on comedy. Peter Buckley Hill contemplates an award. More chaos at the Edinburgh Fringe. The dead owners of Cowgatehead. Plus Lewis Schaffer, Juliette Burton, Bob Slayer, Mark Watson… and it all ends in an orgasm from Copstick.

Podcast No 43: Lynn Ruth Miller - 13 December 2015CLICK HERE(24 mins)Lynn Ruth Miller, 82-year-old US comedian, talks to John Fleming at her home in Brighton, England, about sex, sado-masochism, her show “Get a Grip”, starting a hamster support group, the UK comedy business, World War II, US TV sets, nostalgia,

Podcast No 42: Jewish Holocaust Jokes - 6 December 2015CLICK HERE(38 mins)Kate Copstick talks to John Fleming about the Jewish Comedian of the Year, a man with plastic testicles, the best Holocaust joke, trans-gender comic Will/Sarah Franken, Lewis Schaffer, The World of Pain, British TV censorship, how BBC TV executive Alan Yentob re-cut controversial comic Jerry Sadowitz, the power of TV advertisers and Noel Gay TV.

Podcast No 41: Arthur Smith's Birthday Podcast - 27 November 2015CLICK HERE(25 mins)John Fleming is joined in a Soho alleyway by comedian Arthur Smith, who talks about his theory of mindlessness, synthesised comedians, writing for Frankie Howard, being in a Danish pantomime, why he may go trans-gender, Shakespeare, being pedantic, semi-colons, creative writing courses, Daphne Fairfax and his several half-written novels... plus Arthur performs the opening lines of Dante’s “Inferno” in the original medieval Italian.

Podcast No 40: Bob Slayer - 20 November 2015CLICK HERE(34 mins)John Fleming talks to comic Bob Slayer about the second year of his Christmas Grotto 50 yards from the Bank of England, performing comedy in a double decker bus, his favourite story about touring with Snoop Dogg, why he turned down the Arctic Monkeys and how not to deal with a heckle at a Glasgow comedy show... plus mentions of The Weirdos, Stewart Lee, Terrovision, Electric Eel Shock, Tim Renkow and Margaret Thatcher.

Podcast No 37: How to interview - 30 October 2015CLICK HERE(44 mins)Kate Copstick’s interview techniques, the joys of heroin and why John Fleming grew a beard. Plus Johnny Depp, John Waters, the erotic review, Meg Ryan, the movie “Transporting", prostitution, cocaine in television and acupuncture. Two small sections have been censored to disguise identities.
Recorded at Mama Biashara, London.

Podcast No 31: Noel Faulkner - 20 September 2015CLICK HERE(20 mins)“The Clintons were pure evil... The electronic age is destroying us... America is a Third World country... How come there are very few right wing comics?” - With Kate Copstick away in Kenya, blogger John Fleming talks to London Comedy Cafe owner Noel Faulkner about the upcoming US election, Jeremy Corbyn, capitalism, socialism, drugs, free comedy shows, Ireland, the BBC and much more.

Podcast No 30: Acupuncture - 11 September 2015CLICK HERE(27 mins)Comedy critic Kate Copstick tells blogger John Fleming about the remarkable effect acupuncture had on her, uses some choice Scots language phrases, mentions the naked man in the back room, her sexual promiscuity, Team America, lesbianism and having no place to stay in Kenya.

Podcast No 29: Edinburgh Fringe Awards- 5 September 2015CLICK HERE(27 mins)Comedy critic Kate Copstick and blogger John Fleming discuss the Edinburgh Fringe’s Fosters Awards and Malcolm Hardee Awards - how and why the winners are chosen in general and specifically at the 2015 Fringe. Plus news of Grouchy Club live shows in London.

Podcast No 28: Porn Movie - 1 September 2015CLICK HERE(7 mins)The Grouchy Club live at the Edinburgh Fringe was not all about comedy. In this brief extract from the penultimate show, Kate Copstick talks about the logistical problems of writing and shooting a porn movie.

Podcast No 27: Luca Cupani - 16 August 2015CLICK HERE(26 mins)An excerpt from the Grouchy Club live at the Edinburgh Fringe on Saturday 16th August 2015... Kate Copstick talks about juggling her work as a comedy reviewer, running a charity in Kenya and writing scripts for porn films.

Podcast No 26: Edinburgh excerpt - sex - 15 August 2015CLICK HERE(11 mins)An excerpt from the Grouchy Club live show at the Edinburgh Fringe on Saturday 15th August 2015... Kate Copstick talks about juggling her work as a comedy reviewer, running a charity in Kenya and writing scripts for porn films.

Podcast No 21: Lewis Schaffer - Comic turns actor - 12 July 2015CLICK HERE(19 mins)With Kate Copstick incommunicado in Kenya, John Fleming talks to Lewis Schaffer in the middle of London's River Thames about the American’s move into plays and about the Edinburgh Fringe... while Lewis Schaffer tells him how he should be recording the podcast.

Podcast No 20: Acne & Edinburgh Fringe with Kate Copstick - 4 July 2015CLICK HERE(28 mins)The sexiness of squeezing acne pus; how to get early reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, Facebook attacks on Copstick, why stand-up comics are lazy PLUS how to audition to be Kate Copstick PLUS George Egg, Stu Francis, Janey Godley, Omar Hamdi, Brian Logan, Jerry Sadowiz, Lewis Schaffer, Doug Segal, Bob Slayer.
Recorded with John Fleming at Mama Biashara in London.
Also in vision on YouTube.

Podcast No 19: Poverty in Kenya with Kate Copstick - 27 June 2015CLICK HERE(31 mins)Life in Kenya described by comedy critic Kate Copstick - and how her Mama Biashara charity works there. Plus a couple of bits about comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe but - beware - this is mostly serious and includes explicit discussion of genitalia. Recorded at the Mama Biashara shop in London.

Podcast No 18: Edinburgh Fringe comedy previews? Why? - 20 June 2015CLICK HERE(23 mins)Chat onEdinburgh Fringe show previews + putting press quotes and stars on posters. Plus Copstick on getting drunk and vibrators from Poundland... Why Sean Penn’s hair in "Carlito’s Way" lost her a job on TV’s "Good Morning with Anne and Nick”... and passing references to comedians Lewis Schaffer and Njambi McGrath. Recorded at the Mama Biashara shop in London, interrupted by reality and suddenly disintegrating into chaos... Also in vision on YouTube.

Podcast No 15: Sectarianism, xenophobia and comedy - 30th May 2015CLICK HERE(35 mins)The Grouchy Club Podcast with a little bit of sectarianism, xenophobia and laughter. Recorded before a comedy show at the Mama Biashara shop in London but repeatedly interrupted and we never quite gets round to talking about the recent Edinburgh Fringe chaos at the Cowgatehead venue. With Kate Copstick, Giacinto Palmieri, Luca Cupani and John Fleming. Also in vision on YouTube.

Podcast No 14: 26th May 2015CLICK HERE(40 mins)Kate Copstick and John Fleming discuss the Edinburgh Fringe chaos over the Cowgatehead free venue... The impact of the Scottish legal system... and Edinburgh comedy previews at Mama Biashara in London. Recorded at Mama Biashara and live streamed on Periscope. .

Podcast No 13: 17th May 2015CLICK HERE(29 mins)Kate Copstick auditions for “Little Shop of Horrors” and talks about the excitement of motor bike racing. Plus we talk first-hand about alcohol, self-harming, drugs, mental health problems and attempting suicide. Also... Copstick reveals who is “the best fuck in comedy”. It’s not all about comedy. Recorded at Mama Biashara in London.

Podcast No 12: 10th May 2015CLICK HERE(30 mins)Kate Copstick on being gang-mugged in Kenya and writing scripts for French porn movies. Plus the UK General Election, the Royal baby, the SNP and occasional bits about the comedy industry. Recorded at Mama Biashara in London.

Podcast No 11: 4th May 2015CLICK HERE(8 mins)Comedian Malcolm Hardee 1995. While writing his autobiography “I Stole Freddie Mercury’s Birthday Cake” Malcolm Hardee talked to John Fleming. This extract explains how he started his legendary comedy club The Tunnel with its weekly shows "Sunday Night at The Tunnel Palladium". Malcolm drowned in 2005. NOTE This recording was made to collect facts for Malcolm’s book. It was never meant to be heard in public, so the technical quality is not ideal.

Podcast No 10: 26th April 2015CLICK HERE(75 mins)The 2005 funeral of Malcolm Hardee, godfather of British alternative comedy... uncut. The Daily Telegraph said: “Rarely can there have been so much laughter and irreverence at a funeral service and rarely can it have been more appropriate”
Running order on: http://wp.me/pR0wt-eO7

Podcast No 9: 20th April 2015CLICK HERE(39 mins)With co-host Copstick trapped in Kenya, comic Juliette Burton talks to John Fleming about Vlogging, Abnormally Funny People, mental health issues, the UK General Election and psychotic hallucinations. Recorded at King’s Cross station in London.

Podcast No 8: 12th April 2015CLICK HERE(40 mins)Madonna tries to be funny. Comedians who are funny off-stage. Michael McIntyre. Tony Blair. James Joyce. Scottish humour. God. The Islamic State. The Edinburgh Fringe. And a free offer to comedians who want to preview shows. All human life is here.

Podcast No 7: 5th April 2015CLICK HERE(27 mins)With co-host Copstick ill in bed, John Fleming talks to UK-based American comic Lewis Schaffer about why he became a comedian, his visits to a New York psychiatrist and what makes a good comedian. Recorded at Five Guys, London, after Lewis Schaffer’s weekly show at the Leicester Square Theatre.

Podcast No 5: 15th March 2015CLICK HERE(31 mins)Recorded in Kate Copstick's London flat, John Fleming babbles on about his life in TV promotions and entertainment. Plus the real lowdown on Malcolm Hardee, deceased Godfather of Alternative Comedy. Plus the early days of the British Alternative Comedy scene. And how Copstick tried to bribe a TV producer with fresh fruit.

Podcast No 4: 8th March 2015CLICK HERE(36 mins)Recorded at the Comedy Cafe, London, with its owner Noel Faulkner on his time as a drug smuggler and being on the US ‘Ten Most Wanted’ list... Plus ... Copstick on bad female comics... Why Noel thinks drugs should be decriminalised... And a surprising compliment to the UK police.

Podcast No 3: 1st March 2015CLICK HERE(44 mins)The origin of Edinburgh’s Free Fringe, bad UK sitcoms, William Shatner’s funniest role, why I am "odious", why Copstick dislikes comic Lee Evans and Peter O’Toole but loves Tom Cruise and lusts after a famous actress. Plus the sound of a woman begging and Copstick attacking children. Recorded at the British Library.